tnt

Yeah, at some point talking down the other league's competition and schedule becomes pointless when you end up losing to them at the most important time of year.

I guess I don't know many players that are 11 feet tall and weigh 322 pounds, so I don't think he is playing against players nearly twice his size. I know what she is saying, and it may be that they are gearing themselves against specific teams, but his size hasn't deterred him thus far and I don't think it will be an issue going forward at the next level. Who knows, the USA might wish they had him if they get into a long shootout scenario like the one where Toews took Frazee down to Chinatown.

I love that he will think he has something to prove for trying to make the next World Junior roster. I would think at that point it may be a no-brainer.

I have 2 tickets together for each night vs. the gophers in Section 311 in about Row J. Asking $240 for all four, which is face value with ticketmaster charges.

He may have been recruited as a depth player like Davidson, but I'm sure he is thinking if he gets his chance he plans on making something of it. I know that Davidson was compared to Dustin Penner before he came here just as an observation of his size and perceived upside, but there are circumstances where guys do come in and get their chance and never look back. Hopefully he is one of those players, although they are few and far between. The fact that I haven't heard comments from the coaches or players about how this guy is amazing in practice like you heard about guys like Lee Goren or Jason Blake, leads me to believe he will be a depth player, and that is needed on every team as well. Players that accept and fill certain roles are what championship teams are made from.

He doesn't start hating on them until they actually arrive here. Then they become evil, pure evil I tells ya!

They also had the Michigan / Ohio State hockey game on the Big Ten Network that night. What a hockey bonanza.

Agree, most of the time opponents will give up the shot from the point on the powerplay. Who better to take that shot in more open space than Frattin. If he is down low they are more apt to key on his shot, and he isn't quite as good of a stickhandler as Kristo who could then either stickhandle towards the goal, or get it back to the point. If they do choose to key on Frattin at the point, they open up something better down low. Didn't they say all but one of Frattin's goals are from outside the faceoff dots? If that is the case, let him keep ripping them on the powerplay from there.

I guess Hakstol isn't very smart to put him out to kill penalties then if he is that big of a liability.

I wonder if the rivalry can ever be the same way it used to be. I am sure the fanbase will get reaquainted with the rivalry at some point, but if the players don't have as big of a stake in the rivalry, I wonder if that will deter the fans from getting into it as much as they used to. When the players were bitter rivals it kind of carried over to the fans. With fewer North Dakotans on each team, and really not many of those players knowing about or experiencing the bitterness, I wonder how it can ever be the same. The days of both schools being composed of mostly North Dakotans is over. We are just as likely to have surfer dudes from California who are oblivious to the hatred they should be feeling, as we are to have corn-fed farmer's or rancher's kids who would like nothing more than to knock the snot out of the city boys that are on the opposition. I hope I am wrong and that once it is ongoing again that regardless of where the players are from, it can be imparted to them what it means, and they will respond in kind. But somehow I think the Fire and Ice days of Rocky Hager and Roger Thomas are gone forever, and that is kind of sad. To be honest, I'm not sure if a lot of rivalries are like they were before simply because of apathy, both from the athletes and the fans.

Now if the Sioux men can ruin the debut of Amsoil Arena...

Hey, hooked on phonics worked for them!

You almost have to have your bases covered in the college hockey world today, as judged by the Sioux having 7 forwards that could come in next year if there were enough early departures to go along with the four senior forwards. I do think most players now understand that the year they will be coming in depends on early departures and development. The thing with all of the early recruiting, it doesn't leave a whole lot of room to capture the late bloomers.

Brutal game to watch. What is the shooting percentage in this game? When you have the unbelievable number of turnovers along with not making shots when you finally get them, that is a bad combination.

Headlines: Roughriders take down Grizzlies, or Roughriders take down Bobcats. It has always been one of my top choices.

True, you just have to find a way to tune that out. Needless to say, it is much easier to tune it out when the Sioux win. Final Five is always a good time regardless, but wonder when/if the Big Ten Conference comes about what happens to the tournament.

If you listen to GPL crowd the Sioux have a monopoly on bad fans. Apparently they can't hear their own fans in that regard. After Blake Wheelers goal in O.T. at the Final Five it was unbelievable how many people could get in your face just walking up the stairs from the bottom of the arena. It got so bad that a friend of mine who is usually very calm yelled back at one of them to wait for the regional when we were again berated with a barrage out on the street. Turns out he was right and Chris Porter put an end to their season. Until after the Woog years, there was not one time I went to the new and old Mariucci when fans didn't remind us that we had a bunch of old Canadians, NOT ONCE! Don't know if they believe the garbage they are fed or not. Once again, there are bad apples in all fan groups.

Forgot about Parks. He might be one that needs another year, but who knows, he is playing in a league where putting up points is very hard to do. Also don't know who is more WCHA ready as far as being a two-way player.

It looks to me like you are comparing scores. I wouldn't say South Dakota has come farther because they have been ahead of us for years. We'll see when we play them if the Sioux have made any progress in cutting that gap. I think the basketball program is where the football program is at this point. They have a year or two with the young players, then the expectation for major improvement will definitely be there.

Agree, it seems like they are setting a precedent that if you fall into the goalie and the puck goes in, you will be rewarded. True it didn't cost us the game this time, but again they can't seem to figure out this call because they took away a goal from Minnesota against Mankato for the same type of play. Maybe they will have to create a separate stat goals after goalie contact, because Dell hasn't given the opposition much when he doesn't get run over.

Don't know if they are or not, but they probably wouldn't have a lot of scholarship money to give. Right now there is the possibility of MacMillan, O'Donnell, St. Clair, Mattson, J.T. Miller and Rocco Grimaldi for next year. Unless they lose 2 players early, they might need to send one or two back to their respective teams. Sometimes older players don't have the upside that younger players would, but then again they might do anything through hard work to earn their way. Be interesting to see which teams have offered.

http://www.thescoutingnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33259:nick-schmaltz&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=54 Sounds like Jordan Schmaltz has a brother that has crazy skills at his young age.

While I am happy they support the Sioux nickname, I can't help but wonder what things would be like now if they would have taken the initiative to tell the NCAA their feelings and support when the whole thing came up in the first place. Working on the NCAA deadline doesn't give much wiggle room. A lot of people were silent for too long, but in the end the Standing Rock leaders are the ones that should be absolutely ashamed for not letting their people's voice to be heard.

Colten St. Clair with 2 goals, one assist and six shots in Force win tonight. Gothberg got the win. Anybody know what's up with Danny Mattson? He's missed the last handful of games.

So you're saying that a redshirt freshman came into a pressure packed situation and performed, and we have a sophomore and junior that don't seem to be able to find a wide open receiver in games that at this point are essentially meaningless to this season? I don't want to degrade the players too much, but being in the program for a few years should result in at least being able to move the offense in spurts.